My Second Family Part II: Family Activities - Journal Entry #8

Friday, August 18

Went out w/ Masha and Alex at 1pm yesterday to see horse racing – horses racing with the riders (jockeys?) being pulled in chariots behind. Very interesting looking – not nearly as fast as racing in the US. Very few people there as well – most just sitting in the stands drinking a beer and smoking – probably involved in the race as well (friends or whatnot).

Left and after much explaining to Masha and Alex of what I wanted to eat – we finally stopped at a café in a bowling alley (only 6 lanes). They said the prices were very cheap and were glad we picked that place. I tried to learn the words on the menu – I hate relying on translators so much – I feel so embarrassed. I had a little piece of toast w/ tomatoes, meat and cheese on top and a cabbage salad w/ tomatoes. Both very good.

After they walked me to Lyceum where I met Tatiana. We then went over to her office by the presidential palace to meet Evgeny for his first lesson. SO much easier to work with an adult – I enjoyed the lesson and am very much looking forward to the next on Sunday – he’s very nice and really wants to learn English.

From there Tatiana and I were driven by her sister Natasha to T’s friend’s house – Lyev, Oksana and their 5-year-old daughter Yeva. Had tea, cake, grapes, watermelon – discussed a journalistic possibility – me writing a column of sorts to be translated by Tatiana and published in a journal that Lyev helps put out every other month. Intriguing and I’m curious to see what comes of it. Am meeting w/ him again sometime next week. They also have a cat – Mason(k?) – a huge fluffy black tom cat. Man, I really miss Mathilda. I’m beginning to forget what it feels like to hold her.

After Lyev’s, we came home and I was picked up a little later by Yulia and Denis and we went to the cinema and saw “Click” – comedy/dramaish w/ Adam Sandler. All in Russian of course. Interesting experience – would like to see it in English now to see (hear) what I missed. Oh, and besides the obvious – being able to buy and drink beer at the theatre – we got to pick our seats – that totally surprised me – assigned seats at the movies.

Class this morning. Tatiana did most of the talking/teaching. Went MUCH better. I really am not a very good teacher. They enjoyed the poem “Ladies First” by Shel Silverstein though – I was glad – their sense of humor is not completely different.

Saturday, August 19

So yesterday after class spent the day at home – reading, finishing postcards and listening to music.

Went out around 9 w/ Yulia and Denis to a club called Bomba – in an old bomb shelter beneath a radio factory. A pretty cool place. Met their friend Ilya and his new girlfriend Katya (an English translator) – later were also joined by Nailya/Nilya (I think – it was loud when we were introduced and that is not a name I had heard before) – turns out she lives in a flat on the floor above Tatiana. So drank a lot, smoked too much and danced to bumpy, techno music – mostly in English. Celebrated the “new year” @ midnight – Santa even made an appearance – got my picture w/ him!

I really like Yulia and Denis – am so glad I have them to do things with. Today woke up feeling ill. Took shower – why does cigarette smoke so permanently adhere to hair?? Ate a strange breakfast of fried eggplant, tomatoes, toast and cheese – really, it tasted good though.

Hung around the house till 2 when I went with Tatiana, Yulia and Denis to Tchaikovsky – a town of about 100,000 near Votkinsk – named for the composer b/c of its nearness to his hometown – forgot to ask when it was founded , but am assuming it was after his birth/life/death? Will ask. (NOTE: Yes, it was a newish town.) Had dinner w/ Andrei’s (Tatiana’s husband – as yet unmet) mother. Apparently his father died only a couple months ago – Denis said they go to visit her every week now. Both were in WWII – he as a soldier, she as a nurse. Saw his many medals/awards. Ate bread, kilbasa, salad and fried potatoes and carrots – very good. Then walked around Tchaikovsky w/ Natasha (middle daughter of Andrei’s brother), her husband, and 2 children Masha and Katya.

Sunday, August 20

Met with Masha this morning and went to her apartment – met her mother, was fed all kinds of good food (had just eaten breakfast so was utterly stuffed when we left) – including cabachok (a thick slice of baked marrow/eggplantish thing with meat and tomato slice on top) and a delicious cake with a sour cream/cream cheesy filling.

Lesson with Evgeny was cancelled so just relaxed at the flat during the afternoon. Am spending the evening w/ the family again. Going to Natasha’s (Tatiana’s sister) daicha @ 6. Yulia is also going. I hope Denis too. I really enjoy talking to them and feel I can be myself around them. He and Yulia make a very cute couple.

Monday, August 21

Natasha’s last night. Denis did end up going – and the daicha was unbelievable. A huge beautiful wooden house with gardens both in front and back. It was a little sprinkly while we were there though, but hung out on the back deck for a while smoking with Denis and Natasha. Am smoking too much – Yulia says she usually doesn’t smoke and I said the same – but somehow we have ended up smoking together – ever since Bomba. Watched “Stars on Ice” – Russian version – apparently there are Russian versions of many American shows – “Who’s the Boss” and “The Nanny” (or whatever it’s called) I have seen. Even the look of the actors has tried to be duplicated.

Class today – nothing much new to say. Going alright now – Tatiana does much of the talking, which I am thankful for. She is a very good teacher.

Tonight – went with Alex and Dinara and her sister down to the reservoir and on a ferry trip around it. Nice to be on water – reminded me of home – and beautiful forest surrounding it. Very peaceful – except for the occasional very crackly and precariously-looking-hanging speakers playing mostly obnoxious music – at one point played “Take On Me” – that was OK – also played the diva’s song from “The Fifth Element” – very odd/random to hear.

After was picked up by Yulia and her friend Masha (who joined us on our first short tour of the sights – “the pelmini”) and went to Masha’s friends’ daicha – Misha and Masha. Misha then picked up Masha’s boyfriend (so many Mashas!) Dima – he was a riot. Accused me of being an American spy and taking photos of all the military plants in Izhevsk. Found out that during the cold war 2 U.S. nuclear missiles were aimed at Izhevsk b/c of all its weapons/steel production. What a crazy time.

Wednesday, August 23

Yesterday went with Julia and Tatiana shopping and finally ate at the pizza place that we had attempted to patronize earlier. Pretty good pizza – very flat crust and an unusual cheesy sauce. Afterwards had a lesson with Evgeny and then onto a lesson with Nadezhda and her adult students at the Oxford office. Yulia then picked me up and we went back to Tatiana’s for a dinner with Yulia’s ex-boss – Sasha/Alexander – just like Grant – it was scary… A hilarious man and a very fun evening.

Classes in the morning today – first with the 10^th graders and then with 11^th. Returned home to Tatiana’s flat and after a fairly brief meeting with Lyev to discuss more about what he would like from me, I went bowling with Denis, Yulia and Denis’ cousin Andrei – which was awesome – I won 3 out of 4 with scores of 115, 123, and 104 (I think) – amazing for me to break 100 3 times in a row.

Thursday, August 24

Went to Ludarvai today with Dasha. Met up with her around 12:30 and found out that we didn’t have to be at the press conference (? I knew nothing about this) until 2 or 3 or something. So we went to a café near the hamburger place Yulia and I had eaten at and hung out for a while. Got an iced mocha – very good. Walked over to the building where the press conference was being held – found out it was for the other American I had heard about, Patrick somebody – a piano blues/jazz guy from Iowa – regarding the 3 day Udmurt folk music/dance festival that was starting today at Ludarvai. Talked briefly with him – he agreed on the most frustrating things about Russia – the taking shoes off in the house thing, the nobody drinks water thing, and the lack of clean toilets with toilet seats still attached thing (public toilets are pretty bad throughout). Filmed the press conference for him with his camcorder – some journalist kept asking questions about how didn’t they all think the festival should be put off in mourning for the recent plane crash victims in Ukraine.

Finally boarded a bus and went to Ludarvai – a sort of outdoor museum, recreating what life in a typical Udmurt village would be like. The first day of a 3-day festival. Freezing cold and sprinkling. Dasha and I got something to eat from one of the vendors, looked around a little, watched a little bit of the dancing and made our way up into the windmill where it was warmer and dry. We both enjoyed watching all the people below us – kind of spying since we could see them but they couldn’t really see us. Finally saw Nadezhda – we had both thought that she wasn’t coming. Went down to see if she could take us home as the bus wasn’t supposed to leave until 10pm. Neither of us had known exactly what we were getting into. We were able to squeeze into her brother-in-law’s car – along with her sister and mother – so 6 of us total – Dasha on Nadezhda’s lap. Felt EXTREMELY lucky for this break a few days later when we found out the bus hadn’t left till 1am…

My Second Family Part I: Classes Start - Journal Entry #7

Sunday, August 13

So I’m now at Tatiana’s (teacher) – I was sad to leave this afternoon (it seems forever ago) and I could tell Tatiana (mom #1) was sad to see me go as well. She made very clear that I could come back any time (winter, spring, or fall) to visit with them again and they would be very happy to have me. Alona made me a red, white and black (Udmurtia’s colors) friendship bracelet – it’s awesome and I was very touched. She was finally beginning to warm up to me and had even begun speaking a little English. I very much hope to see that family again.

I now realize though that they were kind of a “hippie” Russian family. Very concerned with buying locally produced, organic food (I went w/ them a couple days ago to get milk from the local cow – a few blocks away – I couldn’t help but think of Tirzah on that trip and how many trips would she make to the cow in the course of a week?) and very unconcerned with material possessions. Andrey had a conversation with me today about his philosophy of life – basically trying to know as many people as you can and take the best elements of each. They are very smart people and I was happy to know how much they liked me. Andrey even said something about how he talked to me so much b/c he did like me and if he hadn’t, he would have been much more silent.

Anyway, Tatiana’s flat is very comfortable – not quite as small as I was envisioning – and I have my “own” room – basically the living room – 2 fold out couches and TV. Only she and her son Alex/Losha (from camp) live here right now. Her daughter (Yulia) lives with her boyfriend (Denis) at his parents house and her husband is living at the daicha right now. She said we will visit it at some point. I have no idea how long I will be here, but I’m guessing it will be at least a couple of weeks.

This afternoon after stopping to get some groceries and dropping my stuff off at the flat we (Tanya, Yulia, Denis and Yulia’s friend Masha) went on a short tour of interesting statues and monuments that are a little less well known in Izhevsk (Baba Yaga’s house, the pelmini, the crocodile, etc.). Then home for dinner and relaxation.

After dinner we visited Tanya’s nieces (on her husband’s side) at a nearby apartment for watermelon and tea/coffee. I was too full for anything but watermelon and hope they weren’t offended at my refusal of everything else.

Monday, August 14

Happy Birthday Heather!

Tuesday, August 15

Well yesterday was actually quite busy as was/will be today. Alex and I walked to the university yesterday – through the WWII park/memorial – and then over to the school (Lyceum) and then home – it was quite a bit of walking and I got a blister on my left foot.

Yesterday also I met w/ “my” students. Seven showed up – 3 boys, 4 girls – including one I had met at the camp – Masha – who was very interested in me and my music especially. Two of the boys seemed to know quite a bit of English and one, especially, was very comfortable talking to me. The girls spoke much less and were very giggly – pretty normal for girls that age I think.

Man I really wish I knew some people my own age – but there just aren’t any in this world of teachers and students. Very frustrating. And I don’t know what happened to Evgeny, the man I thought I was going to be meeting with in the evenings. I guess he never called. But so far I think Heather’s mojo has been with me – the Giants have been sucking since I’ve been here. Or maybe it’s my own mojo – nothing good ever happens to me at home b/c my own is all wrapped up in the Giants. Anyway, last night after getting home from meeting with the students I watched “50 First Dates” in Russian with English subtitles. A very cute movie that I enjoyed even with the strange language setup.

Thursday, August 17

So on the 15^th I met with Masha and went to Gorky Park (this is definitely the most behind I’ve ever gotten…), which is a little park in the city center that has small rides kind of like Santa Cruz. Not very crowded on a Tuesday morning. Masha was very nice but quiet – like me – so we both thought the other wasn’t having a good time. I’m going to horse races (I didn’t know there was a race track in Izhevsk) today with her and Alex. So after G.P. we walked to the monument and central square – mailed some stuff finally and bought some souvenirs. Walked home.

Met w/ Nadezhda at the flat at 2. We discussed w/ Tatiana what our plan for the class in general and the first class specifically would be.

In the evening I met w/ Nadezhda’s group at the Oxford office – Nikita, Olga and Marina (wasn’t at the first meeting w/ me). Just defined descriptive adjectives primarily. It is so hard to describe a word w/o using the word itself… So not much else of note – this dog at Tatiana’s – “Funny” or “Fanya” – is driving me crazy. As soon as Tatiana and Alex leave – and sometimes just Tatiana – she starts howling, growling, barking and whining. It’s so horrible. I’ve never heard a dog make some of the noises that she does… I try to forgive her though because she’s 17.

So I left Oxford, got on the trolley bus and started home. While waiting for the bus I was thinking to myself, “If I really had the mojo working, I would see Andrei and Dana right now.” I kept looking around for them but never saw them. So on the bus I kept thinking the same thing – please let me see them, please let me run into them. The bus stopped at maybe its 4^th stop after I boarded, I looked out the window, saw someone w/ orange hair, said to myself, that kind of looks like Andrei, thinking there was no way for it to be him, then saw the woman he was with also looked familiar and the thought burst out in my head, “THAT’S THEM!” I hesitated for a second then ran off the bus. I crossed the street to them, totally in shock and my heart beating and walked up to them. Dana saw me first and recognized me immediately and said, “Hello!” They were waiting outside a store for a friend who was buying a beer (it’s OK to drink on the street here – Andrei said it’s much cheaper than at bars – same in the U.S. I guess if it was legal).

So I walked with them a little, talking with Andrei – told him how glad I was to have shared the train with them and thanked them again for their generosity, told him a little of what I’d done in Izhevsk, etc. So needless to say I was more convinced of the luck/mojo/whatever than ever. It was like I WILLED them to be there and they were.

While walking I realized that I didn’t have Tatiana’s phone number and thought she was likely worried I hadn’t arrived home yet. I left them around the Presidential Palace and speed-walked the rest of the way home – arriving just before dark and about an hour after the Oxford class had ended – and yes, Tatiana had been worried. I told Andrei I would call him yesterday to see what they were doing – ended up having a completely full day yesterday so never did – I emailed him this morning though to explain – I’m sure he didn’t care if I called or not, but I hate being flakey like that. I wonder if I’ll ever see them again – I hope so. So at home I then watched “Along Came Polly” in Russian w/ English subtitles – I’m actually getting used to it…

So yesterday I had my first class. Very difficult. 15 year olds are not my favorite age group when in the position of trying to teach them. They didn’t want to do the activities and were all constantly talking so I felt like I was yelling half the time – Nadezhda and Tatiana left me alone – which I think may be good for future classes, but during the first, with my lack of experience, was a mistake. I hope my relationship w/ them gets better b/c right now I’m sure they think I’m completely boring.

So after class, and explaining my difficulties to N. and T., I went out to lunch with Tatiana’s daughter Yulia. We went to a little pizza place which was so crowded we went to a little hamburger joint instead. Got a little hamburger, fries and salad. Yulia paid. She is very nice and I like her and her boyfriend Denis very much.

After lunch we drove around a little and then went to the opposite end of the reservoir – nice little beach and very few people (Volushka) – Yulia said in the summer on hot days it is very crowded and the water much dirtier. We walked out on a small bridge and some guys fishing there asked us if we wanted to fish with them – funny. She showed me how when she was younger they would make little people out of thistles, sticks and flowers. Oh and on the way out there she was stopped by a cop – standing on the side of the road waving a red paddle as we passed. She got out, ran over to him and apparently was able to talk her way out of a speeding ticket – I was impressed.

So after that trip she took me home and told me she’d pick me up again later that night to go out w/ her, Denis and some of their friends. We went out to Café Adam – on the outskirts of town I think. We sat in a little outdoor hut – which we were informed by the waitress that we would have to pay extra for – very bizarre. A friend of theirs, Denis also, who Yulia met at an old job while working at the classifieds section of a local newspaper, was the DJ at this café. A tall, pretty cute (great floppy, wavy brown hair) guy who unfortunately spoke very little English. I really need to work on my Russian… We got French fries (and I explained that I had no idea why Americans called them French), meat in grape leaves w/ smetana and a drink (me and Yulia got beers, Denis juice). Denis speaks English very well and Yulia is intimidated by it I think. I tried to tell her that I DO understand her and it’s OK if she speaks slower, but she remained doubtful.

My First Family Part II: Life in Izhevsk - Journal Entry #6

Tuesday, August 8

Today was a day of relaxation. I woke at 10 – which seems to be my regular time now – and sleep at midnight – eat at 10:30 and am ready to leave the house @ 11. But today there was no plan with Nadezhda until 6 – when I had to meet her at her office downtown – or in the center of the city rather – there is no “downtown” per say. So I spent the day hanging out at home and reading Lolita – it’s an incredibly fascinating book – and it intrigues me that Nabokov wrote in both Russian and English – the former earlier in his life and the latter later (latter later – first time I’ve ever written than I think). I wonder which language he preferred.

After reading till 3:30 or so, I ate an early dinner (plof – a rice, meat and vegetable mixture with Turkish or Tatar origins – very good) and went with Tatiana to Andrey’s work where he let me use the internet for almost an hour – was able to get some financial stuff straightened out for which I was grateful – also checked my fantasy teams… Yahoo not doing so well… oh well. Then took the tram (alone for the first time!) to the center to meet Nadezhda and 2 of her students – Nikita who is 20 and Nadezhda’s daughter’s boyfriend – who recently began living with them also – and Olga, who apparently I will live with at the end of August.

Oh, yesterday evening I went with Tatiana and Andrey to the train station and they helped me get my ticket back to Moscow on the 6^th. They were buying tickets from Moscow back to Izhevsk for their trip to Italy later this month I believe. I’ll miss living with them. As Andrey said, “We are a strange family.” I told him I was from a strange family also, maybe that’s why I liked them so well.

After the class, Nikita accompanied me home on the bus – first he had to give a computer disc to some friends waiting at Nevsky – the main cathedral in town – haven’t gone inside yet – hope to someday. All his friends (2 guys, one girl) were probably 20 or so as well. So young seeming to me now. Closer to my own age than the 14 (or so) year olds I was with earlier this trip, but still not close enough.

Wednesday, August 9

Today was very quiet – read more of Lolita and talked a lot with Tatiana – she said she understood practically everything I said today which was a big improvement from a week ago. That made me glad. We discussed families, marriage, singledom, war, education, etc.

After dinner I walked with Tatiana and Andrey to the house where they get milk – the residents own 2 or maybe 3 cows. An interesting experience and was able to see a little more of the neighborhood (Tatar Bazaar) – the nearby forest (planted by former residents) and many large rebuilt brick houses – standing like giants next to the smaller, old wooden houses/huts/shacks.

Upon returning we watched “Gladiator” – with Russian dubbed on top of the English so both were audible – very interesting also. I know that movie so well that even had I not been able to hear the English I could have followed along fine – and did sometimes try to listen solely to the Russian. In the middle of the movie Dasha called – she is a young woman who is the daughter of one of the women who works at Nadezhda’s office – the Oxford books office. Dasha also works there (NOTE – she didn’t, I was mistaken – she only went there everyday to use the internet) and I met her during my first visit there on Monday with Nadezhda. When she called tonight though (to ask me to go to a museum with her and a friend tomorrow) I was so confused at receiving a call from someone – and during a movie I was involved in as well – that it took me forever to even comprehend who she was. I will have to apologize to her tomorrow.

Thursday, August 10

Today I met with Dasha and hung out with her for a few hours. It was amazing to me to realize how much I missed not only hanging out with someone closer to my age (she’s 21) but with someone who can speak English fluently (she’d lived in Cyprus for 3 years and only returned to Izhevsk about a month ago). I didn’t have to slow down my thinking or speaking around her and it was nice to have that break. We went to the arsenal museum – a building that has been around as long as Izhevsk and housed the military weapons, etc. We saw basically a history of the Udmurt people in the area as well as the history of Russians here. It was interesting even though I couldn’t read the placards and information in each exhibit. Dasha translated some – and it was probably enough – there’s always too much information to read in those kinds of museums anyway.

Friday, August 11

Today, after meeting with Tatiana (teacher) here at the house to discuss what we’ll be teaching next week, I went with Tatiana (my “mom”) to the post office and the Kalashnikov museum. The first post office (small and close) was no help – apparently not all services are available from all locations – a new concept. So we went to the main central branch – have I mentioned how impossible it is to find post cards in Izhevsk? I suppose postcards are mainly an American fascination and few Americans come here…?? I don’t know how else to explain it. Long story short (b/c it’s late and I’m tired) after about an hour at the main branch (and 30 min. at the smaller office) I got Heather’s b-day card mailed (it will take a month to get there but it’s guaranteed! Ooh aah), bought 6 flower postcards and had them stamped ready for mail and bought 5 postcards that had to be mailed in envelopes – so bought 5 envelopes and had them stamped ready to mail and bought 3 postcards that can’t be mailed at all (by accident) – basically they are just stock cards w/ info on them. I’m sure I’ll use them/give them to someone… Anyway, all in all it was a very interesting experience that made me thankful Tatiana was with me and made me more fully appreciate the US Postal Service. Through wind, rain, sleet or snow. Or whatever.

After that trying experience (the most frustrated I’ve been since arriving in Russia) we went to the gun museum. An interesting place – even w/o being able to understand a lot of Russian. Horribly disgusting and utterly sickening, but interesting. I guess the motivation behind the factory – WWII and Hitler’s invasion – is understandable – to “protect the motherland” – but knowing that these guns then were mass produced and used in bloody, fruitless slaughters (Afghanistan and Vietnam for example) is very upsetting.

I didn’t bring my camera today, which was a mistake – I think Dad and Leif would have liked to see some images inside the museum – but even more so when Kalashnikov himself appeared to cut the ribbon on a new exhibit within the museum. An old man (born 1919), very short but dignified – he spoke a little (among many others) and was filmed by the local TV cameras – a perfect time for some once-in-a-lifetime photos… oh well.

Tatiana said she really likes going places with me b/c she always sees something she’s never seen before. Later, when we picked up Andrey from work and went to the grocery store, he said, “See, I told you that you were lucky! I’VE never seen Kalashnikov!” I told him that these experiences have been very strange for me – back home in CA I’m very UNLUCKY. He said, “Well maybe this is the place for you!” Maybe…

Dinner was leftover frozen pelmini (Russian “fast food”) to which Andrey jokingly commented that it was nice to have slaves – Misha and Masha and Maya and me who prepared them all the other day (he did as well, I have to add). He really can be a funny guy. I’m leaving on Sunday at 2 to go to Tatiana’s. I’m sad but also looking forward to meeting new people. Tatiana and Andrey said they would like to have me back during the winter. I’d love to – it’s just a matter of $.

Last night also Andrey put about 1200 new songs on my iPod. It wasn’t easy to share the other way b/c of how the iPod is organized, but I’m very thankful to have this chance to experience so much new music. No Bee Gees or Barry Manilow though. Or Sparks. I had to draw the line somewhere. Oh and tonight’s movie was “Star Wars – Episode 3.” All in Russian. Totally cool. But I missed Hayden and Ewan’s voices. Especially Hayden’s final passionately angry scenes. The Russian guy dubbing it just didn’t cut it. It’s raining now and I think I will go to sleep.

Saturday, August 12

It’s very late – 12:30 (I’ve been staying up far too late – that will undoubtedly change next week) so I won’t write much. We visited a couple of jewelry shops today – didn’t see anything that jumped out at me – then went mushroom picking about an hour out of town (me, Tatiana, Andrey and Tatiana’s sister Elena). Interesting experience mushroom picking – would never dare do it with someone who didn’t KNOW which were OK to eat though.

Got home and rested a bit – Elena and Nastya came with us back home and stayed for dinner – BBQ pork, boiled potatoes and cucumber/tomato/onion/garlic salad. I told Tatiana it was very similar to a typical American meal – which it was – only a better kind of salad. Elena’s other daughter – Alexandra I think – joined us later w/ her boyfriend Ivan/Vanya – a cameraman with the local TV station who we actually saw yesterday at the Kalashnikov thing. All very nice people. Walked w/ them to the main road where they flagged a taxi down. Misty and cold – first time I’ve thought so since being here. Then back home watched “The In-Laws” w/ Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas. An amusing movie. Tomorrow I leave. I’m going to miss Frosia.

My First Family Part I: Votkinsk and the Daicha - Journal Entry #5
Slideshow of All First Family Photos

Saturday, August 5

I am now at the home of my first family – Andrey and Tatiana’s. They have 2 children – Ivan/Vanya who is 17 and Alona who is 15. They are all very into music – the two kids are very rock/punk looking with long (Vanya) or dyed (Alona) hair. The parents even too though. They have a home theatre system which is completely awesome – taking up an entire wall – probably 12 feet across. I watched part of a Bee Gee’s concert (Live By Request) with Andrey last night and then “The Langoliers” TV movie with Tatiana as well – God what an awful movie. Worst I’ve seen in a long time.

In the daytime Tatiana took me out to see some of the city and to shop for souvenirs. At the second shop we visited there was even a shop assistant who spoke English who definitely wanted to sell me everything in the store – she was very nice though. Unfortunately it was overcast and rainy the whole day so I didn’t get many pictures – I think I took 4. Oh, I also got my passport back from Svezhy Veter, but had to pay 900 rubles for the registration – seems like kind of a rip off, but whatever.

The drivers around Russia are extremely aggressive by American standards – I am not so bothered – since I am a fairly aggressive driver myself – but I can only imagine how Tirzah or Lafcadio or someone would react. There are haphazard lanes that people just sort of drift in and out of, pedestrians risk their lives when crossing streets because no one stops or even barely swerves, and cars are continually passing each other when there is barely enough room to do so.

The family also has a cat, Frosia, who is just under one year old – she is absolutely adorable, very small though – probably less than half Mathilda’s size. It’s nice to be around a cat again though – I really miss my own. Frosia even has a similar temperament to Mathilda. She can be incredibly sweet, purring, kneading and nuzzling up to you, but also has a feisty, nasty side and loves to play, chewing and clawing on your hands and feet. She is so cute and fluffy though. I think Tatiana is surprised I don’t mind her rough play and doesn’t understand how it reminds me of my own cat.

So far all the food at Tatiana’s has been excellent – chicken and pasta with a mushroom sauce, eggs, bread, homegrown cucumbers, tea and biscuits, and last night very thin “pancakes” (NOTE: blini) – closer to crepes – and smoked sausages – Andrey put them in a pan, doused them with vodka and lit them on fire – it was very interesting to watch, and something I’ll have to try sometime...

Today we’re going to a smaller nearby town where Andrey is from – will see the local sights and get some fresh fish which will be cooked tomorrow night. Andrey’s parents I believe still live out there and I may meet them. I met Tatiana’s mother the first night I was here – Vanya and Alona were going to spend a night with her before a weekend camping trip from which Alona came back last night b/c she realized she was the only girl among probably 15 other guys – so she was at the house to pick them up. She was a very nice older lady – and made some comment about how maybe they could find a husband for me while I’m here.

Another note – Russians really like cucumbers – they are for sale everywhere and they are eaten like apples – smaller than in America though.

So today we visited Votkinsk, a city of about 100,000 where Andrey was born and where his parents still live. It is also the childhood home of Tchaikovsky. As Andrey said, “I was born there. Me and Tchaikovsky.” Or something along those lines. He is a very funny man and really likes to laugh. He and Tatiana are obviously still very much in love and are very sweet together. Their house is a work in progress – they bought it cheap and are fixing it up – for the past 2 years – Andrey refers to Tatiana as his very good friend or partner when discussing the work on renovating the house.

Anyway, today we visited Tchaikovsky’s home (right) and had a very cute 12 or 13 year old boy as our guide – he spoke no English or course so Andrey and Tatiana translated. Andrei’s English is not as good, but I can understand him most of the time. With us today were Alona and her cousin (Tatiana’s niece) Nastya. They are very cute – as scared to speak English to me as I am of speaking Russian to them. Andrey says Americans speak very fast – I tried to explain that I think all foreign languages sound fast – but maybe it’s true. I do feel like I speak fast sometimes – but when I try and speak slow to them I find it harder to find the words. Strange.

At Tchaikovsky’s house there was a wedding ceremony (apparently a popular location for them) and another in the “queue” as Andrey said. We got to watch it – very interesting even though I didn’t understand much – and I was very lucky to see it. Andrey said I think that it was the first time he had seen such a traditional ceremony.

After that we went to a market to buy fish – 3 were purchased and remained in the car for the rest of the day until they were cooked in the evening – refrigeration is not as much of a concern here and I think it’s good I’m not a typical spoiled, paranoid American. I can accept seemingly less hygienic conditions easier than most. And I figure When in Rome – if they live this way and eat this way then there’s no reason I can’t as well.

Next we went to Andrey’s parent’s house/apartment/flat. A wonderful experience. The relationships Andrei had with his parents and they had with Alona and Tatiana were evidently very similar to at home – I could see my family in them and it was very comforting.

Andrey’s mother was a typical grandmother – very generous and wanting to fill everyone up with food – and what good food… a pie of sorts filled with meat and onions, a beetroot salad, a quiche of sorts topped with sort of mashed potatoes and a fabulous dessert of lady fingers covered with a sweetish sour cream mixture and bits of chocolate – absolutely delicious. I was stuffed when we left. There were also sweets and a candy made of sunflower seeds – very strange looking (a grey past clumped together, left) but very tasty.

I got to see photos of Andrey as a young boy/man and others in the family and Babulina gave me and Nastya each a loshka (spoon). A wonderful experience – did I say that already?

After that we went to the nearby very historic church (right) – about 16 km I think from Votkinsk – Andrey’s nanny apparently would walk from town to the church because she was such a “believer.” It was a very conservative Russian Orthodox Church – we had to wear veils over our heads (the women) and Nastya and I, who were wearing pants, had to wrap a “skirt” around our legs. We arrived right at the beginning of the afternoon mass – another stroke of luck – as Andrey said I got to see more in one day than he’s seen maybe ever. Another very interesting experience – listening to mass in Russian. We each then lit at least one candle, placed them in the holders and left. Alona and I each bought the same ring from the church before leaving – interesting for a church to have a “gift shop.” Selling icons, crosses, chains, books, etc.

Monday, August 7

Well yesterday I went with Tatiana and Andrey to see the oldest plant in Izhevsk (steel) and the gun factory next door. Only from the outside. The steel plant is 200-250 years old I think and the gun maybe from the early 1800s – it’s hard when your guides don’t speak English very well – I think I understand what they are saying, but then I’m not so sure. We walked down by the dam also (platina). The reservoir (they call it a pond or “prude”) of Izhevsk is apparently famous because of its size and there are ferries that take people out on tours.

After looking around the dam/plant area for a little while, we drove out to the summerhouse (daicha or "the garden," right) where Tatiana’s parents are living now. Another very interesting experience. I was shown the garden (very extensive) and the house. In the “attic” Andrey showed me his collection of records (LPs he insisted on calling them). He had MANY and many had Russian covers – i.e. with Russian language printed instead of English. Very cool. It was fascinating to me to see the Scorpions, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Pink Floyd albums with Russian print. Very very cool. Andrey is SO into music, it’s astonishing to me.

After the record collection we ate lunch – noodle soup with bread, tomatoes and raspberries (malina) with sweet sour cream (smetana) for dessert. Absolutely delicious, but one of the raspberry seeds got stuck in my tooth which caused me to rub my tongue raw trying to get it out. Very frustrating. We also walked down the lane and through the forest (starting to sound like a song) to a little swimming/fishing hole (left) where Vanya and Alona would swim when the water level was higher. A very picturesque little place.

After this visit we returned home – oh with a stop at the meat market – extraordinarily fascinating – people slopping meat around, poking, prodding and handling with ease. Tatiana would feel and examine the piece of interest to make sure it was good, it was put into a plastic bag and money was passed back and forth – no concern at all given to the meat covered hands – yet one more example of how removed we in the US are from our environment. Here they touch their food (oh – also when eating and rarely are napkins used) and pick berries and mushrooms from the forest. Everything isn’t sealed in plastic waiting for you beneath the fluorescent lights of a supermarket.

Anyway, at home we began to prepare the pelmini – basically raviolis – Andrey ground the pork and beef that Tatiana hand picked and she prepared the pasta dough. Their friends Misha and Maya and 4 year-old daughter Masha came over for dinner and helped to fill the pasta with the meat. A fun and very communal way of making dinner.

Before they arrived though, Andrey showed me his music collection here at the house – all MP3s on discs. Very impressive. He has a wide variety of musical tastes and I know thinks of my taste as too narrow and very inadequate – always saying, “You don’t know… You don’t know…” and sometimes shocked when I wouldn’t know an English band. All in good fun though. A lot of his music I would like to incorporate into my own small collection.

After dinner Tatiana played some on the piano and I took pictures of Masha with Alona (who came home while we were eating) – Masha was so cute – she kept talking to me expecting some kind of response, but I had no idea what she was saying. Tatiana tried to play some Beatles songs (which we also listened to while preparing and eating dinner – which also included 4 shots of vodka – since pelmini MUST be eaten with vodka – with Tatiana and Andrey).

After Misha and Maya left, Andrey played more music for me off his computer. Music is definitely his passion. We finally all retired around midnight.

I woke today at 10ish and met with Nadezhda (the teacher I corresponded with before coming to Russia) at 11. We took the tram into town, bought a map – with the public transportation routes indicated – and went to see her school and classroom. I feel much more comfortable with Izhevsk and the people here after today, but also a little more homesick and ready to see California again – especially after watching “Sideways” with Andrey and Tatiana this evening. Very strange to be watching a movie taking place in California while in Russia. I love my home though. Today I had to explain – or try to – why I (and many people) live in the Bay Area when it’s SO much more expensive than the rest of the country.

The Camp - Journal Entry #4
Slideshow of All Camp Photos

Tuesday, August 1

The kids here are very friendly – although definitely teenagers. They range in age from 12-17. I get the feeling they also don’t know what to say to me – and I to them. The main hindrance to my travels here will undoubtedly be my shyness and inability to start up conversations with strangers. Worse – how do you start up a conversation with someone who may or may not understand a word you are saying? I hope things get better once I am in Izhevsk – I need to become more independent and not rely on others so much. Being at this camp makes that hard though since I am so clueless as to what’s going on.

We had a “business class” this morning where I was asked to speak about my home. It’s hard to describe in short easily understandable sentences a place that almost literally has everything – variety of people, geography, imports/exports, weather, religion, etc., etc. I couldn’t even say for sure how many people live in the Bay Area – with so many cities butted right up against each other, it’s a very unique place. I guess I’m feeling a little homesick – it’s especially frustrating/difficult to talk about my favorite things – movies, music, baseball – because those mean nothing here. And no internet to keep me informed on the Giants. And even in the city they only have dial-up.

I’m starting to wonder how I’ll make it through the next 5 weeks and if I will really learn anything at all. Will people want to get to know me – will there be anyone who actually wants to speak to me? These are the same problems I have at home and they are so frustrating. It’d be nice to meet some people my own age as well – but working in this school/camp with these kids, I’m not sure how that will happen. I am happy to be here though and interested to learn more but feel trapped by this language/age/interests barrier. Like now, for example, I feel guilty that I’m in my room (shared with 2 girls, Natasha and Dinara, right) writing instead of out there trying to talk to people. We’re waiting for lunch and here I am. And what will I do after lunch?

Well it’s now after lunch and actually almost dinner time. I spent the afternoon following Dinara, Natasha and their friend Losha around. I helped them collect pinecones for their activity tomorrow, played pseudo volleyball and then helped paint the pinecones orange. I am very curious to see what these pinecones are going to be used for. Of course, being me, my immediate thought on collecting and painting these pinecones was how it was negatively affecting the local environment. Typical me – and if my companions would have understood me, I probably would have explained why. Upon returning to our room we started playing a game similar to 13-1 (with Losha/Alex – who I finally realized is Tatiana/Tanya’s son and Natasha/Natalia). Dinara hung out watching partly and thumbing through my Russian dictionary and phrasebook. She definitely seems to be becoming more comfortable with me and has warmed up considerably – she is much friendlier than she first let on. I’m glad I was put in a room with Dinara and Natasha – they are the two girls who I would have sought out in any case.

Wednesday, August 2

Some generalities and observations: Russians eat really fast – maybe it’s just because we’re at “camp” but it seems like meal time is rushed through as quickly as possible. Meals are smaller too (no big surprise) and snacks are eaten very frequently – that could be the fact that I’m around teenagers too. They also don’t drink water very much – the fact that I have water bottles is an oddity – “Is that a special kind of water?” My backpack was also completely new to them as well – and even merited a photograph of me carrying it on our “field trip” today. We went to a pond/lake about a couple miles away I’d guess (5 km?). A fire was built, we played volleyball (pseudo – just in a ring) and a couple of the girls played guitar and sang. Basically just hanging out.

I’ve found some of the girls have similar interests – I talked to many more of them today on the field trip – about music, movies, books, life and expenses in the US, and tried to learn some new Russian words – to which I was told I was very good. I forgot to mention the first question I was asked (by Mikhail during a group meeting) on my first night here was if I could pronounce “bl” as in Bbl. I tried and received a round of applause. I think my Russian would sound good if only I knew more.

Oh – the pinecones were used tonight in a game called Gold Rush – they were the gold nuggets which were hidden around down in the forest. Upon collecting them, they could be exchanged for “money” at the “bank” which could then be used to purchase goods at the store – where I was stationed with Natasha (right). It would have been more fun to see the actual game – the collecting part, but it was amusing to watch the kids agonize over what sweets they would spend their money on.

Thursday, August 3

Another observation – which may be just the fact that I’m with teenagers also – Russians need little to no sleep. I was sleeping all the time it seems in comparison – it also may be that I’m getting over the 12 hour difference from home – like right now it’s about 2 AM at home and I’m sure everyone there is asleep.

The Train to Izhevsk - Journal Entry #3

We returned to the hotel about 15 minutes late, giving me 15 minutes to get cash (I was now completely out after giving 100 rubles to the driver – which he laughed at – and 200 to Natalia – I have no idea if these amounts were appropriate but I hope I did alright) and grab some food at the hotel’s store. Plenty of time if I had been in the US – but here the store did not have change for the 1000 ruble note the ATM gave me (which by the way I was incredibly thankful actually worked for me). After asking almost every conceivable person in the hotel for change, including the front desk, I finally returned to the ATM and took out an additional 500 note.

I returned to the store to collect my items (a bottle of water, a bag of chips and a Toblerone bar) and crossing back again through the lobby saw my driver had arrived. I pointed to the sign to tell him it was me, said, “Minutu,” (NOTE: probably should have said “Chas” or “Chas minutu”) and ran to the elevator. I collected my things from my room, found the key office this time, explained to the astonished woman that, yes, I was leaving for good, gave her the key, ran back to the elevators and down again to the lobby. I left with my driver (I can’t imagine how I would have managed if I hadn’t had drivers waiting for me) and was on my way to Kazansky Vagzal – the train station.

We arrived, I tipped him 50 rubles, and made my way inside. I looked at the signs, found Izhevsk, and then, with a little time to kill, found the toilet. My first experience with using a public squat toilet – very… interesting. Also the toilet paper had to be gathered before even entering the stall – I skipped this step, luckily I had some Kleenex.

I went back out into the main station hall, wondering if everyone I passed could instantly tell I was American, and saw my train was leaving from track one. I went outside, and after asking for help from one of the train assistants/attendants, I made my way down the track to car 19 – the last car – not remembering that I was in car 9, place 19, not car 19. The woman at car 19 looked at my ticket and explained my mistake. The women nearby who overheard looked at me like I was a complete idiot and laughing I walked all the way back up to car 9. The attendant at car 9 was not there so I stood outside waiting for her return. When she got back and looked at my documents, she ushered me inside and I boarded.

I walked down the very narrow corridor till I found compartment 17, 18, 19, 20. I entered and, I swear, found the Russian Ron Weasley. He was sitting on the lower left bunk with a young woman who was not Hermione, but had rather short brown hair and a very pretty face. The resemblance the man had to Ron however was striking. They greeted me with Zdrastvootye to which I replied the same.

Not noticing the numbered beds I clambered up to the top bunk on the right side – which happened to be #20, not 19. Sweaty and exhausted I realized my mistake, and wanting to ask where the two sitting below me were supposed to be, simply said, “Um…” to which the red-haired man said, “Do you speak English?” I sighed in relief and said, “Yes, do you?” He smiled and said, “A little.” The relief I felt at seeing two young normal looking people in my compartment increased exponentially.

I found out they were named Andrei and Dana and were married, returning home to Izhevsk to visit friends and family while on vacation. They lived in Barcelona so spoke fluent Spanish as well as a smattering of English. They were very friendly but I got the feeling uncomfortable that they couldn’t communicate very well with me. Andrei’s English was definitely superior to my Russian though. I wished I had remembered more Spanish from high school, but alas those days with Mr. Mirabelli and Mr. Cruz were too far in the past for me to recall. Who would have ever guessed that I would need those high school Spanish classes to communicate with two Russians on a train in Russia? I wish I could have talked to them more – they shared food with me and were very helpful to me in speaking to the attendant. I definitely felt isolated from them – and since they had each other there was no pressing need for them to communicate with me.

It’s hard but I need to make more of an effort to talk – in the US I’d have no problem keeping to myself around others, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I need to remember to make the most of it.

Since writing the above I had more interaction with Andrei. He and Dana were listening to music together on an iPod – she got tired of it and stood up to look out the window. Before this even happened Andrei asked me if I liked music, so I told him yes and which kinds – classic rock mostly – Beatles, Led Zeppelin. He asked about the Strokes and the Pixies – 2 bands I don’t know very well but like what I’ve heard – and told him so. So when Dana got up leaving her earphones behind, he asked if I’d like to listen. So we had a nice interaction/conversation about music and he played for me some music I’d never heard before. Jose Gonzalez (from Sweden), Tokyo Sex Destruction (very punky) and Piano Magic were especially good.

As the train pulled into Izhevsk, I asked him for his email and we exchanged addresses. He even gave me his cell phone number for the 3 weeks they are in Izhevsk. I hope to see them again – or at least continue to talk to them through email. So far they are they people I’ve met whose company I’ve enjoyed most.

I was met at the train station by Nadezhda and one of the women who works at Svezhy Veter. All at once I was overwhelmed and suddenly exhausted. The plan almost instantaneously went from going to register and going to my new family’s house to going almost immediately to a camp that needed a native English speaker. I’ve been stumbling through the day in a daze, but I’m now here at this “camp.” I left my passport with Elena at Svezhy Veter so she could register me tomorrow – I hope that wasn’t a mistake and that everything goes OK.

Moscow and the Hotel - Journal Entry #2
Slideshow of All Moscow Day One Photos

We reached the hotel after maybe 20-30 minutes. I got out, thanked him (“Spaceeba”) and went inside. I felt bad about not giving him a tip, but had only been able to get 500 note rubles in London so had no change. The hotel was practically deserted. I approached reception and asked in English if the woman sitting there spoke English. The answer, still kind of surprising to me then, was nyet. I showed her my reservation form faxed into them by Svezhy Veter and she began working at her computer. She finished by giving me a little card with the floor and room number and explained that the key to the room was “on the floor.” I was utterly confused but trusted I would figure it out when I got to the floor – number 16. I asked about paying also and she indicated I would do that later – I assumed upon checkout.

I went to the elevators and rode up to the 16^th floor. I got to my room, half hoping to see the key in the lock, but didn’t. I tried the door – it was unlocked. I entered, set down my things and wondered what to do next. I searched the room, wandered down the hall looking for some kind of key room or office, and finding nothing, returned to the room and chained the door. I was quite tired at this point and figured I could sort out the key thing after a nap and before my city tour.

After lying down for maybe 15 minutes, I heard the door open and then close. I was surprised of course, got up realizing I needed to get it figured out now, packed everything up, intending to return to the front desk and left the room. Upon entering the hallway I was met by a woman walking toward me. She started speaking Russian and after a brief conversation I got across to her that I wasn’t leaving but was only looking for the key. She took the card I had been given by the desk and nudged me back into the room. She left and quickly returned with the key. She tested the door to make sure it would be locked from the outside and then spoke to me, made a sleeping gesture with her hands under her head and once again nudged me into the room. She was very pleasant but I’m sure thought me fairly incapable, which at that point I guess I was. I might add that upon first getting into the room I looked up the words on the hotel card I had been given, trying to figure out how to get the key and was able to make out that the card had to be traded for the key – but had just never experienced anything like it before so didn’t know how to go about doing that.

I lay down again, feeling more secure in the room and tried to sleep. My mind was a whirl though. I got up, tried to call home to let them know I had made it to Moscow but was unable to get the phone to work. I laid down again, set the alarm to 11:30 and finally fell asleep.

At 11:24 the phone rang. I answered it, was greeted by Russian I didn’t understand, said so and the woman hung up. A minute later there was a knock on the door. I quickly got dressed and answered. Yet another woman who didn’t speak any English greeted me and I finally understood she wanted me to pay the bill. I got across to her that I wanted to use my credit card, but apparently that wasn’t going to work. She insisted on rubles. In a sleepy haze I thought I only had 1000 rubles – the bill was 1700. She was distressed by this and wanted me to follow her. Barely dressed I got on the elevator with her, bringing my money bag and went down to the lobby. She spoke with a woman at the front desk, presumably explaining the situation while it suddenly dawned on me that I had 2000 rubles, not 1000. I pulled out the money, gave it to the bill woman while the other, who spoke a little English, told me to have a seat while the other collected my change. She brought me my 300 rubles and I returned to my room completely baffled. These were certainly strange ways of doing things – maybe it was just the prevalence of Russian bureaucracy – one person for every conceivable job. In any case, I had the key, had paid the bill and now needed to get ready for the tour.

I took a shower, ridding myself of that travel grunge buildup, got dressed and went down to the lobby. I looked around a little as I was early and noticed the closed bank and ATM along the far wall. An ATM that I was very thankful to see since I had used up most of my money on the hotel.

I came back into the main lobby and saw a man holding my name. I had assumed the travel guide, who was to speak English, and the driver would be the same person. I was wrong. This was the driver who spoke no English – he got across to me that we were waiting for one more, a young woman who arrived about five minutes later. She was very pretty with long brownish-red hair and was named Natalia. We got in the car and started the city tour.

I now can’t remember half the names and dates of things she told me, but we visited a number of really inspiring parks and monuments, starting with Red Square or Krasnaya Ploshad. She explained that its name had nothing to do with the color red or communism, but rather had been named Beautiful Square after all the wooden market stalls that once had been there were removed - krasni in old Russian originally meant beautiful, not red. Many of the monuments and parks were in memorial of either WWII or the Russian’s war with Napoleon. Both of which, I gathered, were sources of great pride for the Russian people.

Natalia was very good at speaking English but seemed to have much of what she said memorized – which made sense when I found out she did tours like mine every day during the summer. I enjoyed speaking to her more when we got somewhat off topic – when she would tell me things about herself or little Russian jokes – about the recent freezing winter and the bad fortune that there were no enemies to kill (since in both WWII and the Napoleonic wars the enemy was overcome and helped to defeat by the unusually cold winters of those years) or about the statue of Alexander (NOTE: later was told that it was Peter the Great so this story may have all been untrue) on a very undersized boat that was supposedly originally Columbus but was refused by the US so his hat was removed, his map of North America became documents to unite Russia and he was Alexander – a statue that is a joke among Russians. Our tour was only three hours, but I felt I had seen a lot, some of which was hopefully absorbed, and my mind was made up even more that I must return to this city to explore it more in the future.

The Trip to Moscow - Journal Entry #1

(Note: I use the phrase “very interesting experience” repeatedly throughout this journal – I have not edited or varied this phrase post-trip, as I have tried to keep the journal as close to my original thoughts and ideas as possible. Some additions and changes were made, but very few and most are noted. Also note – the dates are the days the journal entry was written, not necessarily the day of the events.)

Sunday, July 30

I’m not really sure where to start – the past couple of days have been a whirlwind. Except for those nine hours in Heathrow, but I’ll get to that. So far I think I’ve been really lucky and have had good omens all the way. First the day I left SF I won a year’s supply of Ben and Jerry’s – not too shabby. The plane was late leaving SF to London, but made up the time in the air – and for me it didn’t matter anyway what with those 9 hours and all.

On the plane I had an aisle seat with no one next to me. There were 2 women on the other side of that seat and neither of them were talkers – which was fine by me. I watched a movie called “Brick” with Joseph Gordon Levitt (or whatever – the 3^rd Rock from the Sun kid) and the kid from Witness. Not sure I’ve seen him in anything as an adult till now, but I liked him. Oh the Claire girl from Lost was also in it playing a chick named Em. So that was fun. I think I’ll have to rent it though when I get home – the plane’s earphones sucked and I’m sure I missed half the lines. Anyway plenty of room to spread out and a good movie. Good food too – a chicken stir fry and white wine – free. British Airways rocks. So then I watched the Bourne Supremacy and dozed through most of it – that was my plan – it was the only movie I’d seen on the list so I thought it’d be good to put me to sleep – meaning I didn’t feel that I had to listen to all the lines.

The only negative was during “Brick” these two Scotch-maybe guys came up to the emergency exit door (which was in the row behind me – I was in the last row of the front section) and started talking to each other really loudly – one even left to bring back drinks. The guy across the aisle from me told them to be quiet by to no avail. Finally with no end to their yelling in sight, a man from the front row of our section asked a flight attendant to tell them to move. Their complaint was that they weren’t sitting next to each other so how were they going to talk to teach other?! I couldn’t believe that – people all around them are trying to sleep and they were completely clueless and intended to keep on talking/shouting throughout the entire overnight flight. Anyway they were moved and the rest of the flight was relatively silent – especially since all I could hear was the screeching tires, gunshots and fast talking of the Bourne Supremacy. Karl Urban speaking Russian – yum.

So the rest of that flight was uneventful. More food in the morning (not that long really after dinner) which I kept for later rather than eat. And I’m glad I did. So we landed in London and my long day at Heathrow started.

I went to the appropriate desk to check in for the transfer flight – the woman looked at my ticket with a shocked/perplexed expression and told me to come back in an hour. Great. I wandered around, went to the bathroom to clean up a little (my teeth felt disgusting) wandered around a little more (saw a Burger King and Terminal One’s departure lounge, AKA mall) and made my way back to the check-in desk. I sat in a chair in that waiting area (b/c I was still earlier than an hour later) in front of a big AC fan. Did I mention the airport was sweltering? I don’t know who designed it but they didn’t do a very good job when it comes to temperature. I can’t imagine it’s cold even in the winter. Anyway, after sitting there for a while, cooling down and drying off, I went back to the desk. A different person was there and I was able to check in – but only after making a fool of myself b/c I couldn’t understand the word package or something when he was asking me about my luggage. He didn’t use the word luggage or baggage though so with his accent (which I think was Russian – definitely Eastern European of some kind) I completely couldn’t understand him and had to ask him to repeat it like 4 times. I thought, as I walked away, “Great, if I can’t even understand a Russian when they’re speaking English, what will it be like when I get to Russia?” It wasn’t an encouraging though and I felt like an idiot.

After that I did a lot of sitting and walking and standing around. With a backpack weighing 30-40 pounds, I wasn’t eager to be on my feet all day so I primarily sat. But then my butt and tailbone hurt so I’d get up and walk around but then my feet would hurt… you get the idea. It’s amazing how long it takes 9 hours to go by – and then when you’re down to like only 3 you think to yourself, “Not much longer now!”

I ate dinner at this sandwich/coffee place in Terminal 2 (where I went after getting my boarding pass and from which my plane was leaving). I had a grilled chicken-caesar-salad sandwich and apple juice. While paying I got to overhear one woman who worked there reveal to the other that she was newly pregnant. I felt happy for her even though I knew nothing about her. Then I sat for a while and read through my Russian phrase book – I love the James Bond ones. I also loved sitting in the terminal 2 mall AKA departure lounge and listening to the dozens of accents and languages around me. It’s really incredible and kind of alleviated my fear about traveling somewhere where I don’t know the language. If people only traveled to places where they could speak the native language fluently, most of us would never leave home, and what kind of world would that be? So with a more peaceful feeling inside of me, I sat and waited and walked around and waited again.

The other strange thing about Heathrow’s Terminal 2 besides being sweltering and a mall, is that only the flights for the next couple of hours are listed on the departure monitors and only those leaving in less than 40 minutes have the gate information – maybe typical for international airports, but something I had never experienced. So I didn’t even have any knowledge of my flight until maybe 8 o’clock – and then only that it existed. Also, by then the mall had begun to empty and as the flights kept being moved up the screen and nothing was appearing underneath “Moscow” I understood – mine was the last one leaving for the day. 9 hours really is a long time.

As the people dwindled away I also finally began to hear some Russian – something I had been listening for the whole day. A couple young guys and a girl sat a few rows over from me to wait. I knew instantly upon seeing them that they were Russian – even before hearing them speak. After trying to catch words and phrases that I knew I got up to walk around again. I ended up in a bookstore thumbing through a book on the historic torture and execution of women. It was actually really cool and right up my alley. If I had had an ounce of space left in my bag I would have bought it.

Monday, July 31

After leaving the bookshop I saw that the Moscow flight finally had a gate – Gate 13, perfect for a flight to Russia (NOTE: 13 is often used by Russian hockey players, including Slava Kozlov) – and those who were left were collecting their things and proceeding down the hall toward it. When I got to Gate 13 I saw why it would have been pointless to get there any earlier than when the plane was starting to board. Passengers were actually checked in when entering the room that held Gate 13 and then had to sit in the waiting area there – no bathrooms and no mall. I then thought how clever it is of Heathrow to force people to wait in the departure lounge, surrounded by shopping temptation rather than allow passengers to wait by their gate where all they might do is read.

As I was checked in, I had another good omen. I assume it was because I was probably the first person who got a boarding pass, due to the fact that I was 9 hours early, but I had been upgraded to a business class seat – in row 6. A few others were also upgraded – there must have been quite a few empty business class seats – something I’ve never seen happen on a flight in the States.

After sitting for a while at Gate 13, watching my fellow passengers shuffle in, I began to get the feeling that I was the only non-Russian on the flight. It was the first time I had felt isolated from those around me. It turns out I wasn’t – there was a whole troop of British girls that seemed to be going to some competition – but I only saw them briefly.

I boarded the plane and took my seat, curious to see who I would be next to and hoping it wasn’t someone scary. After watching people go by for a while, the three young people I had seen in the departure lounge came aboard and proceeded to decide which of them had to sit next to me and which would sit in the two seats across the aisle. The black-haired guy eventually took the aisle seat by mine. We exchanged a smile. Then all the announcements began over the intercom – first in Russian, then haltingly in English. This was it. I was leaving English speaking ground and heading for someplace different.

The guys next to me had brought a bottle of Seagram’s 12 (or something?) no doubt purchased duty free in the terminal 2 mall, and I began to worry – not only that they might be loud, obnoxious and drunk, but that they might offer me some. I was relieved when neither happened – Russian men can, yes, apparently hold their liquor. While aboard I had my first Russian meal consisting of grapes, other mixed fruit in a cup, a hot mixture of spinach, cheese, fish and mushrooms and a small custard pastry topped with peaches. It was all actually quite good. Realizing that this was the business class meal, I wondered what kind of fare the coach passengers were receiving.

The flight was fairly uneventful until I asked the stewardess – a model of Russian stoicism – about the form I was supposed to fill out for customs. She retrieved one for me and was trying to find the instructions in the on-flight magazine when she finally gave up and asked the guy sitting next to me to explain it. By this time the dark haired and light haired Russian guys had switched seats and had finished the bottle of whiskey. The dark haired guy was now sitting with the girl and they were watching some Russian variety show on his laptop. The light haired guy (I really wish I had gotten their names) tried his best to help me read the all-Russian form, but either his lack of English or the whiskey was getting in the way. He kept asking the girl’s help until finally he convinced her to switch seats with him. She had not partaken of the whiskey, so I wasn’t sure if it was that or her superior English skills that made her more fluent. She was very pleased to hear I was from the US – and even more so that I was from the SF Bay Area in California (she first guessed Texas and I almost gagged) - she said she had many friends in the area.

With her help I finished the form and they returned to their prior seats. The guy proceeded to fall asleep and continued to slowly slump down in his chair. By the time we were nearing Moscow he had his legs crossed over into my leg area and his head was mere inches from my shoulder. I realized that if this had been someone else I would have minded, but either his age or his Russianness made me feel very at peace with his encroachment. His friends thought it was so funny they took a picture of us. I suddenly saw an orange light coming from their direction, turned, realized it was a photo about to be taken, and smiled. I hope he enjoyed this photo of himself practically in the lap of an American.

We landed in Moscow and deboarded the plane. My fears about the airport and getting out of it were unfounded – at least at 5 in the morning. There were very orderly lines to go through passport control and even a shelf on the back wall with information on how to fill out the form I had completed. Even though I now could have done it on my own, I was glad it had given the Russians on the plane a reason to talk to me.

In line at passport control a middle-aged man saw my US passport and asked me for help filling out his form, including loaning him my pen. It turned out he was German, but spoke English fluently, and was pretty much as clueless as I was, if not more so. We chatted for a while about why we were there and how we both hoped there were no problems with our forms, etc. We finally got through passport control, with no problems or even a word from the woman doing the stamping, and went our separate ways. My bag was patiently waiting for me as soon as I stepped through the passport control gate – the only one going around the second conveyor belt. I retrieved it and headed for the exit.

Now our plane had arrived early and it was only now just 5:45 (when the plane was supposed to land) so I was worried that the driver would not yet be there to pick me up, but after having to only say no to one proposition for a taxi, I spotted a shortish man (meaning about my height) with a sign reading “EMILY KLOKKEVOLD.” I approached him, made some gesture that it was me, gave him my bag to pull when he reached for it and followed him outside to his waiting car. The air was only a little chilly and the sun was just beginning to rise. I got in the front seat next to him and we were off.

It became very clear that he knew little to no English and that I didn’t know much Russian (he asked me which hotel – apparently there are 3 with the same name and are A, B, or C – I was at Beta) so our drive was very quiet. He flipped on the radio and we listened to Russian pop music on the way into town. At one pint I was reminded by the radio of 107.7 back home – same sounding intros – and I smiled. During the drive I got to see the sun rise over Moscow – beautiful. I was smiling practically the entire drive; everything was now jjust how it should have been. I felt completely out of place and yet also strangely at home.